Read an excerpt from Eoin Colfer's 'Iron Man: The Gauntlet'

Tony Stark is the king of the witty put-down, though even he has his smarts tested by the smart-alecks of Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer’s homeland. The Marvel superhero heads to Ireland in Colfer’s novel for young readers, Iron Man: The Gauntlet (Marvel Press, on sale Oct. 25). In the book, Stark travels to the isle for an eco summit, runs into one of his most dangerous enemies and is relieved of his high-tech armor — save for one lone gauntlet. “There is comedy, tragedy, explosions galore, imprisonment, escape, redemption and melting bridges. And a very shallow artificial intelligence,” says Colfer. USA TODAY has a first look at the Iron Man jacket, and an exclusive excerpt below, which Colfer says shows the lengths Stark will go — including using his inventor know-how and his helpful artificial intelligence Friday to…